


The Same River

by clotpoleofthelord (plantainleaf)



Series: This Crooked Fish [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Timestamp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-18 05:36:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1417021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plantainleaf/pseuds/clotpoleofthelord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coming home is never easy, especially when so much has changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Same River

Yeah, Krissy knew it'd be hot in the Great Southern Desert. It's southern, and a desert, after all. But she didn't expect just _how_ hot. She's tired of sweat, and of sand, and of always feeling thirsty no matter how much water and ale she drinks.

So when she and Kevin ride through the city gates into Corus for the first time in two years, it's with a huge sigh of relief.

He glances at her as he pats his gelding, and frowns. "Everything okay?"

She nods, kicking her own horse into a faster trot. "Just glad to be home."

***

The Griffon looks exactly the same, except there's a fresh coat of paint on its old wooden walls and the flowers in the window beds look watered, for once, not half-dead and drooping like they had when Krissy left. But there's still the familiar sounds of steel on steel ringing out from behind, and the smell of baking bread and simmering stew make her mouth water.

First things first, though, and she gives the doorway to the tavern a longing glance. Kevin scoffs. "Don't worry, Kris, they're not gonna run out of stew anytime soon."

She grins at him. "Not now that Jody's in charge, anyway. Did I ever tell you about that one time, when Dean took all the bread to one of his classes and didn't realize we were out of flour?"

It's Kevin's turn to grin widely. "No, but that sounds like Dean." He sobers as they dismount and lead their horses to the stables. "We're stopping by the palace, right? I know you're not exactly the monarchy's biggest fan."

Krissy hesitates, taking an extra minute getting down a brush for the horse. She likes Dean, trusted him, even, and that's a rare thing in her life. He'd found her on the streets, stealing and conning and ripping off royal guards and tax collectors whenever she could, and offered her a place in his classes and a bed under his roof at the Griffon. It'd taken a year of her attending occasional classes, then coming every week, then buying herself tankards of ale almost as big as she was at the tavern, before she'd finally given in. He and Jody, and Sam whenever he was around, had been like a second family to her. Jo she liked, too, admired, even, she could admit to herself at least. And Jo had introduced her to Kevin, which she was grateful for (most of the time, anyway; the dry desert air gave him a wicked snore). 

But her father had been killed by the palace guard, when she was just twelve. He'd been caught in the middle of a riot or a bar fight or something, and even though she's pretty sure he wasn't even a part of the fight, the guard had pushed him aside and he'd been killed in the melee.

So yeah. Not the monarchy's biggest fan was pretty much right.

"Maybe," she says, hanging her tack on the wall.

Kevin nods and squeezes past her, hand brushing her shoulder in silent reassurance. "I can send a message up there, see if Dean and Jo wanna come down?"

She shrugs, noncommittal.

It's weird that Dean isn't going to be around the corner, grinning at the kids trying to pick up the practice swords and flirting with everyone. It's not _his_ stew, cooking in the back  even if it smells pretty much the same.

Krissy isn't a _friendly_ person. She knows that about herself, and she doesn't particularly mind it. She's just got a handful of people she likes, and a few more she tolerates, and everyone else is just - in the way.

The desert had been good for that. Just her and Kevin for days at a time, riding along dusty roads and fighting bandits and dropping in on Dean's--Jody's, now--contacts throughout the southern half of Tortall. She can do a day or two with strangers, dealing with business and enforcing the Rogue's justice and authority. But it's good to be back home, where she knows the layout and knows the people.

Or, she did, anyway.

They round the corner into the courtyard and the first thing Krissy sees makes her grab for the hilt of the knife at her back, but Kevin steps in front of her, smile on his face, and she tries to relax, feeling the adrenaline run from her body. 

It looks like a brawl, the dust of the dry afternoon blurring the figures rolling in the dirt, but then a whistle blows and they separate into five teens, breathing hard and brushing dust from their clothes.

"Good," says a familiar voice,and Krissy spots Jody stepping from the shade of the building. "Timmy, remember to keep your center of gravity low, okay? Dylan, remember this is _training_ , not a real fight, so try not to _actually_ get Lucas in the balls. Lucas, are you all right?"

One of the kids, who's a little hunched over and wincing, waves weakly, and there's a chuckle that runs through the crowd. Jody grins, and then her eyes widen. "Krissy?"

She hurries over and pulls her into a tight hug. Krissy stiffens for a moment, then relaxes into it, closing her eyes. Jody kisses the side of her head and pulls away. "Hey, Jody," she says, blinking dust from her eyes.

"Hey, sweetie," Jody replies. "Welcome home. And you too, Kevin."

Kevin reaches out a hand to shake but she ignores it, hugging him quickly. 

Krissy recognizes a few of the kids, though they've all grown up a lot in the last two years (and gods, she sounds like an old person). Timmy she knows: another street orphan Dean and Jody took in, but he's shot up about a foot since she last saw him. He still stares at her like she hung the moon, though, and blushes when she gives him a wave.

"Come on," says Jody, putting an arm over each of their shoulders. "Lemme buy you an ale."

***

Later, in her old chambers she sits on the bed, staring around at the walls. Kevin's out with some of the other knights from his year and he'd invited her along, but the transition back from empty desert to bustling city is a little overwhelming for her, though she'd never admit it to him, or anyone else. He knows her well enough to get it, though.

Flopping back on the bed with her hand on her stomach, she stares up at the ceiling. There are faint lights still glowing, leftovers from a spell Sam had cast a few weeks after she arrived to stay with Dean. He'd seen her on the balconies and roofs, staring up at the sky, and had made a twinkling duplicate of the midsummer sky appear on the ceiling of her small bedroom. The fact that it's still there and still visible years later reminds her just how powerful of a mage he is. 

She's missed him, too. _It's amazing how being away from home for a while makes you realize just how many people you care about_ , she thinks. And how much you can change in a few years.

The girl who'd lived it this room was tough, street smart, and _angry._ Angry at the palace guard, at the king who commanded their loyalty, at the people of the city who didn't care about her family, and at herself, for not being able to do anything to save her father or avenge him.

But now? Now that girl seems like a different person, one that she knew years ago but who’s far away. Sitting here, like this, in the place she’s spent so much time just hammers the point in that she’s not that Krissy anymore.

There’s a knock at the door, and she looks up to see Sam looming in the doorway.

“Hey,” he says, grinning, and she wraps her arms around him in a tight hug.

Sam’s taller, if that’s even possible, and he’s definitely filled out since she last saw him. His hair’s longer, too, and she reaches up to ruffle it as she pulls back. “You need a haircut.”

He snorts. “You and Dean, man. I’m not cutting it.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Besides, Jody likes it.”

She grins at him. “Yeah? Well, Jody's into chicks, too, so I guess that makes sense." She grins as Sam rolls his eyes. How’s that going, anyway? You and Jody?”

"It's good, yeah. Really good." He flops down in her chair, long limbs awkward in the small space. "It's a little weird, working for the Palace and living at the Court of the Rogue, but, uh, it's kind of perfect."

He looks good, she thinks, looking him up and down. Healthy. Filled out. He's had a hungry look to him, ever since she met him when he was 19, but Jody must be doing right by him. He's even lost that pallor of a mage who spends all his time indoors. It's nice.

"So how was the desert?" He asks, leaning forward, and she grins at the glint of excitement in his eye.

***

Sam stands, stretching, and yawns as the palace bells toll an hour much later than Krissy's used to from being on the road.

"I'm glad you're home, Krissy," he says. "We missed you. Especially Dean." he gives her a knowing look. "You're gonna see Dean, right?"

She nods. "Yeah. I, uh, I'm gonna send a messenger, see if he wants to come back here for a drink or something. If he's got time, you know, between all his _official business._ "

Sam sighs, sitting back down, this time on the bed beside her. "Things change, Krissy." He puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes. "Sometimes that sucks, which you know. But sometimes–" he shakes his head. "Sometimes, it doesn't. You should go up there and visit him. See what he's doing. It'd mean a lot to him." 

She makes a noncommittal _hmph,_ and he shakes his head. "Or maybe the two of you are just too alike to see it." He stands back up, smiling down at her, fond. "I'll take my _girly feelings_ and go." He pauses in the doorway. "Seriously, though. It's really good to see you, Krissy."

She smiles at him, genuine and wide. "You too, Sam. And–I'll think about it, okay?"

"That's all I'm asking," he replies, and slips out the door with a smile and a murmured _goodnight._ The door creaks as it shuts, the sound as familiar as Sam’s earnest concern.

She flops back down on the bed, staring up at the stars on the ceiling and enjoying the warmth of familiarity and her friends until she finally dozes off.

***

When she blinks awake, the morning sun warm across her face, she forgets for a moment that she ever left this place. But then Kevin groans beside her, rolling over and burying his face in the pillow, and she sits up, remembering when it is. He grumbles louder, curling close and throwing an arm over her lap and she runs a hand over his head. She can't help the flare of warmth that his closeness sparks, that bright, powerful feeling of something like love. 

_If I'm this happy with a knight, despite everything, maybe–_

She shakes her head. Knights are one thing. A married prince is another.

Kevin shifts, stretching and squinting up at her. "'Time is it," he mumbles, just as the castle bells ring out 8 o'clock. She grins at him and he rolls his eyes, pulling away and running his fingers through his hair. "Shut up."

"Have a good night?" she asks, and he winces.

"Uh, yeah. Benny took us out all over the city, and Ash and Jo came with, too." he runs a hand over his face, yawning. "They all say hi, and that you should come visit."

She shrugs. "Yeah, maybe. First I wanna get some of Jody's eggs and bacon, though." She swings her legs over the edge of the bed and grabs her tunic, standing to stretch. Kevin follows, catching her in a kiss before grabbing his own clean hose from their packs.

Jody's waiting for them, downstairs in the tavern, and she piles their plates high with pastries, ham and eggs. She ruffles Kevin's hair as he passes and he swats her away, grumbling. "You're gonna go visit your mom, right? She's been missing you."

He nods, taking a bite of a fruit bread and mumbling, "That's the plan today." He swallows. "Kris, you want to come?"

She shakes her head. "Maybe later. I've got some stuff to get done."

Jody smiles at her fondly. "You should see Dean, Krissy. He talks about you about as much as Linda does about Kevin here."

Krissy rolls her eyes. "He's a drama queen."

"Yeah, but he cares about you. As much as he'd like to pretend he's got no feelings at all."

***

The palace is–well, it's a _palace._ Krissy's been a few times, with Kevin or with Jo, but only to the new knights' quarters on the very outer sections. Today, trailing behind a group of dignitaries from somewhere in the north, she's making her way deeper in. 

She's not sure what convinced her to make the trip, frankly. Part of it's probably Jody, so comfortable in her new role. Part's Sam, somehow exactly the same and yet completely different from when she last saw him.

But if she's really honest with herself? It's coming back here, back _home_ , and realizing how different she is than the last time she arrived. 

She's tacked onto a different group, now, following a chattering group of pages and squires into the courtyard just outside the doors the the Great Hall. She's about to slip away into a passageway when she overhears a snippet of conversation from one of the squires.

"–it's not fair!" the boy is saying. He's in a squire's tunic, in the colors of one attached to the palace until he finds a knightmaster. "I came here to _fight,_ not to train city brats."

His friend elbows him, glancing around nervously. "Be quiet! You know it's the Prince's pet project. He might be listening, or one of his spies!"

They both look around suspiciously, and Krissy drifts away casually, around a corner, ducking through a half-closed gate.

She finds herself in a dark hallway and she follows it until it opens into a smaller courtyard. There are a number of knights training, many of whom she recognizes by sight from their visits to the _Griffon’s Mouth_ back when she worked there frequently, so she stays in the shadows by the edge. They’re relaxing, it looks like, some sparring playfully, others dicing at a table. Children play in one corner, watched by a few servants, and the whole affair has a homey, comfortable air.

She's about to step forward, try to blend in, when she recognizes Dean, sitting in the middle of one of the benches. He's grinning at the knights around him as he scoops up a pile of coin and dumps it in a pouch.

"That's the game, guys," he says, cheerful. He grins at the knights' groans and shrugs. "Next time maybe trust the Prince when he tells you I'm awesome."

One of the men lets out a laugh. "Your life as a, uh, _simple tavern owner_ sure taught you to gamble."

Dean shrugs. "Perks of being a Lower City kinda guy." He stands, patting the man on the shoulder. "Don't feel too bad, Victor. Nobody else can beat me, either. Buy me a drink and I'll give you some pointers." He gives the man a leer and hops over the bench.

Krissy follows, casual, staying along the wall and a few dozen yards from Dean. 

There's a child's yell from the other side of the courtyard and Dean bends down and sweeps a little girl into his arms. She's young, just getting her feet under her, and she giggles and buries her face in Dean's shoulder. He's half-turned towards Krissy and she can see his face, focused on the kid in his arms. He's smiling, face soft, and another man steps out of a doorway and wraps his arm around the two of them. 

It's the Prince, she realizes, dressed casually, eyes tired. He doesn't look anything like the portraits she's seen of him, or like the robed, glittering figure that used to stand on the balcony beside his father.

Instead, he looks like any knight or noble seeing his family after a long day. There’s a look of _relief_ in on his face, his shoulders dropping from where they’re hunched around his ears as the three of them start down a corridor. Dean passes the kid to him, speaking quietly, and Krissy slips back into the shadows.

Dean looks–older. The crinkles around his eyes weren't there when she left, she's pretty sure, and he's dressed a little more like a noble than she's used to. He's lost some of his wariness, though, and the dark shadows under his eyes are almost completely gone. His waistline isn’t quite as trim, either, and she grins at the thought of ribbing him over that.

He leans in and presses a kiss to Prince Castiel’s cheek, speaking quietly, and brushing a hand over the baby’s head. Castiel responds, again too quietly for Krissy to be able to understand, but whatever he says makes a grin break out across Dean’s face. He dips his head down to speak to the little girl, whose giggle rings through the hallways.

“They make a cute family portrait, don’t they?” says a voice behind her, and it’s only because of years of training that Krissy doesn’t jump out of her skin. 

“Yeah,” she replies, turning to Jo. “I guess.”

Jo snorts. “You guess?”

Krissy shrugs, turning back towards Dean, but the door behind the where the two men had been is swinging shut and they’re nowhere in sight.

“Come on,” says Jo. “Lemme get you a welcome-home drink or something, okay?” She smiles, putting an arm around Krissy’s shoulders. “Welcome back, Krissy. We missed you. Especially Dean.”

"Everyone keeps saying that," she grumbles, but she lets Jo pull her into a hug. “But yeah. It’s good to be home. And a drink sounds good right about now.”

***

Jo’s got new quarters, way up in the most private section of the palace, and it’s another new thing to remind Krissy how much has changed. The rooms are wide, airy, with a view of all of Corus out the snug, freshly painted shutters. Krissy catches a glimpse of the door’s brass panel as she passes it and raises an eyebrow. “Dean lives here, huh?”

Jo grins at her. “Oh, yeah. We totally both live here. Domestic bliss. Husband and wife. All the usual stuff.” She swings a cabinet door open and pulls out two mugs, then fills them from a keg sitting in another. She carries them to the table and sets them down. “So.”

“So?”

“Kevin said you guys had a good time. That boy’s head over heels for you, you know. You two kids gonna settle down in Corus anytime soon? Dean and Jody miss you.”

Krissy snorts. “And you know you sound _exactly_ like your mother when you meddle, right?”

Jo makes a face and shudders. “Oh my gods, don’t say that. Subject dropped.” She tips back in her chair, swishing her drink around in her tankard. “Tell me about the South, instead. Kevin says you had some run-ins with the Hill people?”

Taking a deep swig of ale, Krissy leans forward. “Have you ever heard of Persepolis?”

***

The sun’s setting out the window when Krissy looks up next. She’d forgotten just how much she _likes_ Jo. It’s not just the ‘women who are kind of badass’ thing, although that helps. And it’s not just that Kevin thinks Jo could take down Mithros himself if she needed to.

No, Jo is just– _awesome._ She’s brave and funny and hot and everything Krissy wants to be some day. And Krissy’s not above admitting that she’s got kind of a terrible crush on the Prince’s Champion.

“You know, Dean and I are grabbing dinner in a few minutes,” says Jo, abruptly. “Charlie and Cas have, uh, some kind of Royal business and we’re not invited. You wanna come along?”

Krissy shifts in her seat. “Yeah, okay, I guess. If it’s not some private thing.” She smiles. “Kind of weird, though, that you guys are _married._ He’s basically your brother.”

Jo lets out a very unladylike snort. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.” She shrugs. “It got the gossips off my back, though. And gave Dean a title and a reason to be in the palace.” She glances to a door half-hidden behind a wall hanging. “And it got me what I wanted, too.” She stands, setting her empty tankard on the counter. “Come on.”

Jo leads her into the upper city, to a tavern just a few minutes’ walk from the palace. It’s more comfortable than the fancy eateries the nobles frequent but it’s still the kind of place that has barmaids in unpatched aprons and whose tables are wiped clean between guests. Jo waves at the man behind the bar who smiles back at her and waves, then sits at a small round table in a nook in the wall, dragging a third chair over to it. Krissy sits beside her and accepts the tankard of ale the barmaid hands her. “Nice place,” she observes, glancing around. She spots a few other people who are obviously knights, and many merchants, tradespeople and even a few nobles.

“It’s where Dean and I go when we’ve gotta be back in the palace before the gates shut. Not that that would be a problem for Dean.”

Krissy chuckles. “Yeah, no. But I guess a government official being caught sneaking into the palace would still be kinda strange.”

“Oh, I’d never get _caught_ ,” drawls Dean from behind her. “Hey, kiddo.” He musses her hair with a casual hand and she scowls, pulling away and trying to fight a smile. “You been good?”

She rolls her eyes. “Am I ever?”

“Good point.” He drops down heavily into the chair beside hers and throws an arm over her shoulders. “Keepin’ all our secrets safe?”

Krissy elbows Dean in the side but he just squashes her in closer. She sighs in irritation, but lets him tuck her into his side and kiss the top of her head. “Better than you, old man,” she says fondly. “I hear you’re all Royal now.”

“Hey,” he says, pulling back. “That’s _Minister_ old man to you, kid.” He mock glares a moment, then shakes his head. “It’s weird. It’s, uh, really, really freaky. Right, Jo?”

Jo shakes her head. “Oh, yeah. That’s one way to put it.”

As they sit there, together, Krissy feels her nervousness melt away. She’s not actually even sure anymore why she thought things would be different. She’s still her, and Dean’s still Dean, even if she’s suddenly running a network of thieves and dating a knight and he’s a government official and a King’s consort. They’re still Krissy and Dean, and they still _get_ each other. Even if she’d never admit it to him, it’s warming her up and dissolving knots of stress she didn’t even know were there.

It’s family, is what this is. Dean, and Jo, and Sam and Kevin and Jody and the kids at the Griffon: they’re the family she’d thought she’d never have again after her father died. And no matter where she goes, whether it’s far to the south to make contacts and trade or deep undercover for Jody in the slums of Corus, she can always come back here.

***

Kevin’s still up when she gets back to the room, sitting crosslegged on the bed and reading a book he’d borrowed from Jody. 

“Hey,” she says, pulling off her jacket and dropping it in the corner.

“Hey.” He closes the book, smiling up at her. “Have a good time stalking Dean?”

She shoves him glaring, and he grins at her. “What?”

She shakes her head and shoves him again. He tips back on the bed agreeably, but grabs her arm on the way down and tugs her along with him. She lets him tuck her head under his chin and closes her eyes, breathing him in. "Yeah," she says. "It was good. Different, but good." She shakes her head. "Jo asked me if we were gonna stay in Corus, settle down. I told her there's no way I'm settling down anytime soon. Too much to see."

He nods and kisses the top of her head. "I know what you mean." He pulls back a little until he can meet her eyes. "Speaking of change, uh, the prince called me in for a meeting today." 

Krissy puts her chin up on her crossed elbows and raises her eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"He want to offer me a position. With the King's Own."

"Doing what?"

"Managing the supplies and making sure deployment runs smoothly." He smiles. "I'd be second in command for the northern companies, Kris. Reporting to Sir Victor directly."

She watches him closely. "So you want this." 

He nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. This is a great opportunity for me. It's what I've been trained for, and it'd help the kingdom. I'm the best person for the job, you know that."

"Yeah, I know." Krissy grins at him. "I guess we're going north this time."

He grins back. “I guess so.”

 


End file.
